April Z, 1886] 



NATURE 



539 



Occitliations of Stars by the Moon (visible at Greenwich) 



Corresponding 

 April Star Mag. Disap. Reap. '^^^^rJl^S'^Jor 



inverted image 

 h. m. h. m. o o 



13 ... I Leon is 6 ... 20 o near approach 342 — 



J4 ... 48 Leonis 6 ... 22 57 ... 23 40 ... 40 329 



15 ... T Leonis 5 ... 21 21 ... 21 55 ... 359 310 



16 ... 13 Virginis ... 6 ... 18 14 ... 19 4 ... 69 180 



16 ... Uranus - ... 21 58 ... 22 44 ... 6 297 



April h. 



16 ... 12 ... Jupiter in conjunction with and 0° 29' north 

 of the Moon. 



Meleor S'loxacrs 

 Amongst the radiants represented at this season are the fol- 

 lowing : — Near 'if Ursa; Majoris, R.A. 162°, Decl. 48' N. ; from 

 Coma Berenices, R.A. 190°, Decl. 21° N. ; from Libra, R.A. 

 225°, Decl. S° S. ; from Corona, R.A. 240°, Decl. 25° N. ; from 

 Hercules, R.A. 265°, Decl. 23° N. ; maximum April 13. 



GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES 



The sixth German " Geographentag," which will be held at 

 Dresden on the three last days of this month, together with 

 a Geographical Exhibition, will, first of all, bring up the reports 

 of the two travellers, Messrs. Reichard and Lieut, von Fran9ois, 

 concerning their experiences and observations in Equatorial 

 Africa. Dr. Ed. Naumann will speak on his topographical 

 and geological survey of Japan, and Director A. Matzat, of 

 Weilburg, on drawing in geographical instruction. Further 

 addresses which will be delivered are by Dr. G. Leipold 

 (Dresden), on the raising of the sea-level near the coasts of 

 continents ; by Dr. Hahn (Konigsberg), on the development 

 and division of coasts from a geographico-comiiercial point of 

 view ; by Dr. P. Lehmann (Berlin), on the significance of Kant 

 for geographical science ; by Dr. Egli (Ziirich), on the develop- 

 ment of the nomenclature of towns, &c. ; by Dr. Petri (Berne), 

 on the exploration of Siberia ; by Dr. O. Schneider (Dresden), 

 on the closer limitation of geographical terms ; and by Dr. S. 

 Ruge (Dresden), on the Central Commission for German 

 topography. 



A LETTER was recently read before the Russian Geographical 

 Society on March 17 from M. G. N. Potanin, the leader of 

 another Expedition to Central Asia. At the end of October last 

 the explorer was on his way from Sukhan-Hiln to Lon-djou. 

 He had met great difficulties on this journey ; the Expedition 

 having been compelled to march on foot and their luggage to be 

 carried by ]")orters. The direction of the return journey will 

 depend on the success of the proposed passage across the Desert 

 of Gobi. However, this return is secured. 



We have received a communication from M. Grigoriev, Secre- 

 tary of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, in which 

 he informs lis that Dr. Bunge has left Nasatchye, his head- 

 quarters, on the Yana River, in command of the Expedition to 

 explore the New .Siberian Islands during the summer, and that 

 he is expected back at the end of October or early in November. 

 These islands, which by many Arctic explorers are held to be 

 the right base for an attack on the Pole, are very little known, 

 not having been visitei since 1823. 



The Norwegian Storthing has granted a sum of 45CO/. towards 

 the further geographical survey of Norway. 



Mr. C. Winnecke, of South Australia, has prepared a ])lan 

 showing the contour of the country along the overland telegraph 

 line from Port Augusta to the Queensland boundary, a distance 

 of 1626 miles. 



THE SAHARUNPUR BOTANICAL GARDENS 

 IV/TR. J. F. DUTHIE'S Report on the progress and condition 

 of the Government Bot.anical Gardens at Saharunpur and 

 Mussoorie for the year ending March 31, 1885, has reached us. It 

 is a bulky Report of some fifty-one pages and a very interesting 

 Report of fifteen pages, on "an examination of the indigenous 

 gr.asses and other fodder-yielding plants growing on the Hissar 

 Birland," under date September 5, 1885, accompanies it. In 

 the Report on the Gardens, amongst other interesting and im- 



portant matters Mr. Duthie refers to samples of wheat and 

 barley grown in the Saharunpur Garden, which had attracted 

 some amount of .attention in this country. He says : — " Amongst 

 some contributions for the Economic Museum of the Royal 

 Gardens, Kew, which I took to England last year were two 

 samples of gr.ain — one of a variety of wheat called ' Gujaria,' 

 and grown at Saharunpur from selected seed, the original 

 having been received some years since from the Government 

 Farm at Ca\\npore ; the other a remarkable variety of loose- 

 graine<l barley, of a dark chocolate colour, from a small sample 

 exhibited at a previous agricultural show at Saharunpur." These 

 samples were considered by the authorities at Kew to be of 

 sufficient interest for their being specially reported on, and they 

 were accordingly sent to Messrs. McDougall Bros., of MiUwall 

 Docks, who reported to the effect that the samples had been 

 shown to most of the principal people on the Corn Market, 

 who took much interest in them. The wheat was valued at 

 about 30.!. per 496 lbs., it being classed with the Kubanca 

 (Russian) wheat, its bright and clean appearance causing much 

 remark. On grinding and pasting it was found to contain much 

 gluten, but to be somewhat sticky. The reporter thinks, how- 

 ever, tliat it would pay better to grow the white seed, such as is 

 now shipped from Bombay, and realises 39J. per 496 lbs. Re- 

 garding the b.irley, the specimen, it is said, w.as looked upon 

 with much interest, and many opinions expressed upon its being 

 quite new, and the value varied from 23^. to 30J. per 400 lbs. 

 On damping, the grains were found to sprout well, and so would 

 do for malt, but the colour comes off", and so would not do (it is 

 thought) for pale ales, but it might do well for stout ; for feeding 

 purposes it would be useful, although it would take time to 

 remove prejudice against its colour. In some comments on this 

 Report Mr. Duthie says: — "The wheat is a very hard free- 

 growing sort, and always gives a good yield, both in grain and 

 chaff Last season the yield was r8 maunds and 13 seers chaff 

 per acre. This variety possesses the good quality of being able 

 to stand well up when grown in highly-manured soil ; for, as is 

 well known, most varieties of Indi.an wheat run up into straw 

 and fall over before coming to maturity when the soil is toe 

 highly manured. This variety is thus well-adapted for those 

 who attempt to cultivate wheat according to the European 

 method. The chocolate-coloured b.irley produced 15 maunds 

 grain .and \2h maunds straw per acre. The yield of grain was 

 thus heavier than the yield of straw. The objection as to 

 colour, alluded to in the Report, is fatal to its value, and will 

 prevent its ever being grown except as a curiosity. We possess 

 a white-grained variety of huskless barley, and a good large 

 sample of this has lately been sent to Kew for special report. 

 The huskless barleys appear to be quite unknown in England, and 

 as everything except colour was favourably commented on in the 

 case of the variety sent, I am in hopes that the report on 

 the white variety will be altogether favourable, and per- 

 haps become the means of bringing the b.arley to the notice of 

 the English market." Mr. Duthie records the introduction of many 

 useful and ornamental plants to the Gardens; and to the Her- 

 barium, he says, large and valued contributions continue to be 

 received, amongst them a very interesting set of specimens from 

 Mr. C. B. Clarke, chiefly belonging to families which have been 

 specially worked up by him in his several monographs contri- 

 buted to the "Flora of British India" and De Candolle's 

 " Prodromus," also a large collection made by Mr. J. S. Gamble 

 during a tour in the Madras Presidency. Beside- which dupli- 

 cates had been received from Dr. King, of the Calcutta Botanic 

 Garden, and Dr. Trimen of the Per'adeniya Botanic Garden, 

 Ceylon. In addition to these contributions, specimens had been 

 placed in the Herbarium collected during Mr. 1 )uthie's expedition 

 to North-Eastern Kum.iun. This collection, it is stated, "con- 

 sists of over 1000 species and varieties, including about 25 new 

 to science, one (Cystopteris moulana) new to India, and upwards 

 of 128 not previously recorded for Kumaun. The north-eastern 

 portion of Kumaun, including the districts of Darma and Byano, 

 had not hitherto been explored botanically, and this, of course, 

 accounts for the large number of new records. Amongst these 

 latter are several wliich had previously been known only from 

 Nepal and Sikkim. Further investigation will, no doubt, con- 

 firm my own conclusions as to the greater similarity of the vege- 

 tation along the entire length of the Himal.ayas as you approach 

 the inner and drier ranges." Mr. Duthie's "Appendix VI.," 

 being "Notes on a Botanical Expedition to North-Eastern 

 Kumaim in 1884," will be read with interest by the botanist 

 interested in Indian plants. 



